Posted on 03/26/2014 12:33:58 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Chengdu is sometimes known as the “Gateway to Tibet" because it is located just a few hours from the towering mountains and rich culture of Tibet, which is a region of China. There are roughly 6.5 million Tibetans in China, and they are one of the largest and most well-known minority groups in the country.
For centuries, Tibet was largely unknown to the outside world -- but today, Tibetan Buddhism (the main religion in this area) and its spiritual leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, are known across the globe for their teachings on compassion, forgiveness and tolerance. Tibet is also known for its beautiful, majestic landscapes. Some of the world’s tallest mountains are located there – if you want to scale Mount Everest, you can start from a base camp in Tibet.
To experience some of the rich culture of Tibet, we headed to the Zangxiang Village Tea House for a traditional Tibetan meal that included the following items: truk ja (yak butter tea), yak soup made with highland barley, sha pa le (yak pie made with minced onion and celery), boiled yak ribs, samba (a dense bread made with barley) and steamed vegetables with barley.
Before we ate, we had the chance to spin a traditional Tibetan prayer wheel, a device used by the Tibetan people to spread spiritual blessings. Tibetans believe that spinning this wheel helps one accumulate wisdom and merit (known as good "karma") and purify themselves of bad things (known as bad "karma").
We were then greeted by a group of Tibetan students who placed beautiful silk scarves called "khataks" (which symbolize purity and compassion and are thought to bring good luck) around our necks -- this is considered a welcome gesture. The students then displayed magnificent paintings they had made called "thangkas." Thangkas traditionally depict images of Buddhist deities, retell myths or describe historical events.
I am incredibly grateful that we had the chance to learn a little bit about Tibetan traditions. The Tibetan people have struggled to preserve their unique religious and cultural traditions, and this visit was a powerful reminder of how important it is for each of us to treasure what makes us special, even when it makes us feel different from everyone else. I know that's not always easy, especially when you're a minority in your school or community. But in America, our diversity is what makes us who we are -- it's what makes our country so vibrant, strong and endlessly interesting. So don't be afraid to celebrate where you come from and whatever it is that makes you who you are -- and don't hesitate to share that with others.
This visit was such a wonderful way to end our journey here in China. It has been a tremendous honor for me, my daughters and my mother to experience this fascinating country over this past week. I’ve especially enjoyed speaking with young people in China, learning about their hopes and dreams, and sharing your stories with them and their stories with all of you. I hope you've enjoyed learning about your peers on the other side of the globe -- and I hope you find ways to keep on learning about China and other countries around the world in the years ahead.
Thanks for traveling along with us!
You got your marching orders, MSM. Now go cover the fluff while continuing to ignore the critical failures of the pathetic regime you put in place..
Unless you are a bitterly-clinging cracker.
Then you pretty much suck.
Wow, she writes well! </sarc>
There--fixed it.
The Peoples’ Republic of China is subverting Tibetan culture. Sure is nice of Ms Obama to assist them in the subversion. Her diplomacy rivals her husband’s.
Tibet is not a “region of China”. It was an independent country brutally conquered and colonized by the Red Chinese.
Did they make her walk thru a back door or back alley with garbage laying around? Just like they did with the Dali Lama
Moocher's pricey China trip was "sold" to Americans as a "non-political" visit....... just there to chat up education.
But all of her appearances and inane remarks were connivingly structured for one purpose: to set herself up as a future candidate....and doing it on our dime.
MISSION CREEP The final explanation was that the trip and the tripe she was pedaling was "soft diplomacy" --to "ease tensions" between the US and China. Come again? Who elected this self-serving creep? Who gave her diplomat credentials?
Seems Obama is still bribing her after the Mandela Memorial blond fiasco. Moocher got the $12,000 Herrara dress, a state dinner to hostess, and the trip to China to burnish her credentials as a candidate .....so far.
I just hope Valerie Jarett doesn't get carpel tunnel syndrome wire-transferring funds offshore for campaign expenses.
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GHETTO GIRL MAKES GOOD After Obama's 2008 election, hopes were high that Michelle Obama’s political appeal and charisma would enable her to transform it into something that reflected the role of modern women as equal participants in the political process.” That never happened----having been burned by the intense criticism she received on the campaign trail when she said, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.”
Take Malaysian Air home.....please.
“Chengdu is sometimes known as the “Gateway to Tibet” because it is located just a few hours from the towering mountains and rich culture of Tibet,”
How far is “a few hours”? Journalists today cannot even tell where a place it. Why don’t they look at a map and tell us the distance in miles? A “few hours away” could be 100 miles in Southern California afternoon traffic or it could be 3,000 miles by airplanes flying 600 mph.
She likes to garden vegetables, fruits, etc.
Maybe she can help in the rice fields?
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Two for the price of one if China keeps her: 1). She helps Chinese grow and glean rice - Arugula, too. 2) She will leave Americans alone.
Tibet, which is a region of China.
Push the Communist meme you lying B*otch.
Independent country, brutally invaded by communist
armies, it’s spiritual leader driven to exile, it’s
people indoctrinated and supplanted by chinese “settlers”
in much the same way as Ukraine.
The problem for this regime is that some of us lived
through and remember history as it happened, not as
they want it to be.
She wrote this? In a pig’s eye.
These poor excuses for Americans, make me SICK.
Too bad the khataks were not ropes!
not a word about the great number of Tibetan monks and nuns who have chosen to self-immolate in protest of China cultural genocide policies in Tibet .
Did the first lady get to see an immolation ?
I wish she would fall of a mountain in Tibet someplace.
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams for the Obamas and their supporters, at taxpayer expense. I can just imagine Michelle Obama in a fancy ball gown saying of the average American, “Let them eat cake.”
Sorry Moo-shell, for Tibetan culture these days, it’s necessary to travel to India.
Just don’t mention to the Chinese that you’re headed to Dharamshalla or your lovely hosts will shoot a few stay-behind monks and rape a few stay-behind nuns for Chinese comic amusement.
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